cheo feliciano

8/13/2019 Cheo Feliciano

1/25

Interview: Cheo Felicianoby Abel Delgado ([email protected])

Vintage photos courtesy Iy !anabria Archives " #atin $% &againe

'orn in once uerto *ico in +,- the sonero /heo0elicianois a living legend. In his song 12l /antante1

another great sonero 34ctor #avoe improvised the 5ollowing lyrics:1&is saludos a /elia *ivera 0eliciano esos s6 son grandescantores...escucha bien su cantar aprende de los me7ores.1 3e paidhomage to /heo while putting him in some pretty 5ast companynamely /elia /ru and Ismael *ivera. 3e8s 9nown as one o5 thegreats 5or various reasons. a9e your pic9: an ability to improvisethat ran9s him with some o5 the nimblest vocalists in A5ro;#atin musichistory< a streetwise 5lavor that put edges on many numbers li9e

1a8 =ue A5in>uen1 and 1&ano /aliente1< a poetic lyricism 5ewromantic singers can match (listen to 1Amada &6a1 1Delirio1 and10ran>uea /ruel)1< a versatility uni>ue even among soneros thatenabled him to sing many di55erent rhythms in many di55erent5ormats< a creativity that spawned at least two classics written byhim: 12l *at?n1 and 1/omo *6en.1 Descarga8s Abel Delgado recentlycaught up to /heo recently and tal9ed to him about his li5e his careerand his latest pro7ect na vo... mil recuerdos.

Abel Delgado: he 5irst thing I8d li9e to as9 you about are the basicthings about your bac9ground your 5amily where you were born./ould you tell me a little bit about that

Cheo Feliciano: I was born o5 a very humble 5amily in once uerto*ico. &y 5ather was and still is a carpenter and my mother ahousewi5e. Be come 5rom a very humble community. 'ut it was verymusical everything happening around us had to do in some way withmusic. I must have been around seven or eight years old when Iestablished my 5irst group. I called it 2l /ombo #as #atas. 'ecause it

was cans it was all latas. Be didn8t have any instruments so wemade the bars o5 a guitar with a can the conga with a can the basswith a can everything with a can. !o we called it 2l /ombo #as #atas.It was all 9ids but at that very early age we understood aboutpercussion melody and singing.

AD: Bhere did you learn this stu55 Bhat music did you hear thatinspired you to start this particular group

CF: At the very beginning;;and it8s very di55erent 5rom what I 7ustsaid;;the 5irst group that I heard that inspired me into the 5orte de mivida musical el bolero was el r6o #os anchos. hat was the 5irstmusic I heard and I 5ell in love with;;el bolero. 'ut being as it is
mailto:[email protected]://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=text/se=%22Cheo%2520Feliciano%22?KZLZbS9k;;13http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=text/se=%22Cheo%2520Feliciano%22?KZLZbS9k;;13http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/17485.10?KZLZbS9k;;14http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=text/se=%22Cheo%2520Feliciano%22?KZLZbS9k;;13http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=text/se=%22Cheo%2520Feliciano%22?KZLZbS9k;;13http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=text/se=%22Cheo%2520Feliciano%22?KZLZbS9k;;13http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/17485.10?KZLZbS9k;;14mailto:[email protected]


2/25

having our roots coming 5rom A5rica rhythm was within me andwithin us. !o it was a spontaneous thing that we went intopercussion. I never at that moment... thought I was going to becomea singer. I loved percussion I wanted to be one o5 the greatestpercussionists which I never got to be even though I was at a later

age a pro5essional in percussion.

AD: $ow where did the percussion come 5rom Did you hear peoplein your neighborhood were there radio broadcasts

CF: It was in once. &y town is 9nown 5or one o5 our basic nationalrhythms la plena. And many many guys used to play panderetasand that8s the basic percussion 5or plena. $eCt to my house there wasa guy who li9ed to play congas and he got together with other guysand they used to have rumbones what we called rumbones in the

neighborhood all the time. !o being a 9id I used to come close tothem and listen to them rehearse. so I guess that got me interestedin it too.

AD: $ow the interesting thing about the rumbones is that theimpression I8ve always gotten is that that particular style o5 musicrumba music is eCclusively a /uban thing. 'ut what you8resuggesting to me then is...had that tradition also eCisted in uerto*ico !ince you grew up around it I guess uerto *ico had its ownrumba tradition

CF: %eah well there was always a relation between /uba and uerto*ico even at my early age or even be5ore that. here was always anin5luence o5 the percussion by /uba which was really the mostde5ined in all this that we call salsa. !o I guess we come 5rom that.'ut the main thing about singing li9e I said it was an accident.'ecause many guys li9e me used to love percussion used to li9e toplay conga bong? timbales campana but none o5 them sang. !owhen we got together a rumb?n we had whatever group gatheredaround us to sing the coros. 'ut there was never a lead. !o I guess I

began de5ining mysel5 as a lead and as I was playing conga I used tosing as the coro would answer. !o that8s what I say it was li9e anaccident.

AD: 3ow old were you when you were doing this Bas this a5ter 2l/ombo #as #atas

CF: %eah. hat was way a5ter that. As a matter o5 5act that waswhen I was I must have been around + or something li9e that. Bewere already in $ew %or9 the 5amily at that time. It8s a period calledel 4Codo puertorri>ueEo. It was a very hard time 5or the obreros...thebasic wor9ing man. !o many people le5t uerto *ico loo9ing 5or wor9.


3/25

&y 5ather was one o5 those. I le5t at the early age o5 about +. I wasgoing through my second year o5 high school and I had more or lessde5ined mysel5 as to what I really wanted. And it was music. I didn8twant to be anything else but a musician. !o a 5ew months maybe ayear be5ore that I got some basic academic musical training.

AD: Bhere was this at

CF: In once. It was the 5irst 2scuela #ibre de &Fsica. 1#ibre1because the other 9ids were all 5rom poor 5amilies no one could payso the government auspiced training. he school began in thedressing rooms o5 the eatro #a erla in once. And that8s where I5irst got my basic training on at least reading music a little bit.

AD: Did you 7ust study basic music composition reading music isthat what you studied

CF: Bell I started to because that8s a very compleC 5ield and youneed a lot o5 time not 7ust the little time I had. 'ut basically 7ust to

lip synch the music sol5ear (sol;5a) to learn to do the scales up anddown the basic things the beginning o5 all that training. I wanted tobe among other things a trombone player. 'ut at the moment theschool didn8t have any trombones. hey only had one and they hadGH students assigned to that one trombone. Ironically this is whathappened: about the time when the 5amily was going to move to $ew%or9 is when the trombones came. And there must have been about trombones...two days a5ter that the 5amily was already moving.!o I said hello to my trombones and I said good bye to them. hatwas the end o5 my basic musical training.

he other part that I was telling about the congas and my singinghappened in $ew %or9. As soon as I got to $ew %or9 I was stillinterested in music and percussion. !o $ew %or9 el 'arrio is very5amous 5or its rumbones because there was a time when all the guyshad a conga and whether we went to the beach to the par9 orwherever everybody was carrying a conga everybody wanted to bea conguero. It was a very popular thing. I got into it. I started doingsome lead singing 5or the sa9e o5 having somebody singing not 5orany other purpose. 'ut as time went by I got my brea9 since I was

very 5orward in what I wanted. I spontaneously went and met all thegreats with the luc9 that they all became my 5riends li9e &achito
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/8516.10?KZLZbS9k;;17http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/12882.10?KZLZbS9k;;16http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5756.10?KZLZbS9k;;15


4/25

ito uente ito *odr6gue and a lot o5 those guys 5rom thattime.

AD: 3ow did you meet them Bhat did you do Did you 7ustgo up to them and introduce yoursel5

CF: I 5ound out where the musicians8 union was. And it wasand I thin9 still is on nd street and Jth Avenue in $ew

%or9. !o I went there and 5irst I wanted to register mysel5 as apercussionist. %ou too9 a little test and i5 you made the grade youbecame a percussionist. And at the same time I got the opportunityto meet all these guys because they used to gather there to get the7obs to boo9 everybody. All the impresarios and all the musiciansused to go to this place. !o I met them all I developed a 5riendshipwith all o5 them. As a matter o5 5act I became the utility boy o5

&achito o5 ito uente o5 ito *odr6gue. !o having developed those5riendships the guys that used to hang out with me in the rumbonesthe guys that used to do all those coros and listen to my lead singinginsisted one time with ito *odr6gue to give me a brea9 to let mesing. ito 9new me as /heo but he didn8t 9now they were tal9ingabout me. 1Bhat /heo1 1/heo /heo your valet your bandboy.1 3esaid 1/heo you sing1 And I had the nerve to say 1I8m the world8sgreatest singer.1 And he laughed. 3e said 1Bell you8re going to haveto prove it now.1 !o he introduced me at the 5amous alladium in$ew %or9 one time with his big band and said: 1Damas y caballeros

con ustedes el mKs reciente descubrimiento de la escuelita.1 3e usedto call his band la escuelita the school because all the greats wentthrough his band. !o he gave me the maracas and said 1!ing. !howme you8re the greatest.1 And I sang. I sang a tune popularied byito *odr6gue which a5ter that many singers have sung 1/hang? 8aVeni1. !arabanda /hang? a Veni (singing). And I got applause. heyacclaimed me and they as9ed 5or another number. !o I loo9ed atito I said 1Bell what do I do1 3e tells me 1Bell they8re as9ing 5oranother number. Do another number.1 And I did another one by ito*odr6gue. hat was my introduction to all this...

AD: $ow did you rehearse 1/hang? 8a Veni1 with the band be5oreyou sang it or was it 7ust completely cold Did he 7ust give you themi9e and say 1sing1

CF: hat8s it. At that time I used to imitate (him)...li9e many guys.2verybody wanted to be ito *odr6gue. 'ecause he was stylebecause he was a symbol. 3e was the model 5or not only singers but5or bandleaders. 3e had such a strict way o5 leading his band that hewas a model. 3e was a very 5astidious dresser and he demanded thathis band loo9 good at all times. hey used to call him 1#ittle /aesar.13e was li9e a sergeant. 3e used to line them (his musicians) up
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/se=Tito%20Rodr.guez/va=searchquery%3DTito%20Rodr%26iacute%3Bguez/em=1/mp=sortres?KZLZbS9k;;18http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/se=Tito%20Rodr.guez/va=searchquery%3DTito%20Rodr%26iacute%3Bguez/em=1/mp=sortres?KZLZbS9k;;18


5/25

be5ore a show loo9 at their shoes ties everything. 'esides that allthe singers were in5luenced by ito8s style.

AD: 3ow old were you when this particular event happened

CF: I must have been about +,.

AD: !o it was maybe +,G so you had been in $ew %or9 7ust acouple o5 years

CF: *ight.

AD: 3ow long did you stay as a bandboy with ito *odr6gue Didthat particular per5ormance launch your singing career

CF: hat8s where it started right there. As I told you I was a >uasi;percussionist some little groups started getting together and I usedto play congas with all these groups and it was by insistence o5 ito*odr6gue himsel5 that the Loe /uba seCtet which had been recently5ormed and lost their singer...he group was young and they didn8thave any contracts and another band listened to that guy singing andthey li9ed him so they stole him 5rom Loe /uba. $ow Loe /uba has a>uintet and has no singer. !o he went around the musicians8 unionand it was ito *odr6gue that said 1&ira there8s a /heo that singsch4vere. Met him.1 And Loe /uba I 9new him be5ore slightly sent

5or me and gave me a test singing session. And I sang the sametunes I sang with ito *odr6gue because I had memoried them.hat was the beginning I was accepted in the group and my li5e isvery...I have so many anecdotes...

AD: And I want to get to as many as I possibly can. 'ut the 5irstthing I8m very curious about since you were with the legendary ito*odr6gue as a bandboy what did you learn 5rom him

CF: Bell he was a power5ul sonero. Bhen he sang there was no

doubt in what he was singing. 3e was so sure so positive aboutevery line that I wanted to be as power5ul as him. ruth5ul... youcould believe what the guy was singing. 3e was singing about you.3e was singing 5or you. 3e was connecting with you and I wanted todo that. I wanted to be able to sing to tal9 to the people to loo9them in the eye and ma9e them 5eel what I 5elt. And I got that 5romito.

AD: A lot o5 times on ito8s recordings you hear him repeat a lot o5what the chorus says and you don8t hear him stretch out andimprovise on a lot. In your eCperience as an improviser when heper5ormed live did he seem to stretch out a lot more and improvise a


6/25

lot more

CF: $o. In that case ito was limited. 3e was very purpose5ul he wasvery rehearsed in what he did. 3e did it all per5ectly. 'ut I don8t thin9he was really such a 5ree improviser. 3e could do it but on a limited

basis. I thin9 I learned some o5 it 5rom him you 9now the per5ectionin whatever he was going to sing... he was per5ectly rehearsed. $owthere were other singers that really improvised li9e &achito li9e'eny &or4 and be5ore that when I must have been 7ust a little 9idnames li9e /ascarita and many others who could really get on stageand improvise. I thin9 I was in5luenced by all o5 them.

AD: !o then you hoo9 up with Loe /uba. ell me a little bit about theLoe /uba years. Bhat was it li9e what was your impression o5 thatera and that music

CF: Bell I8ll start it with one o5 the most important happenings in myli5e. I remember it because o5 two very important reasons. It wasNctober +,. hat was when I did my debut with Loe /uba. A5terwe had rehearsed a 5ew wee9s the 5irst 5ormal gig came up andwhen I sang 5ormally 5or the 5irst time with Loe /uba Nctober thwas the same day I got married with my wi5e /oc? who still happensto be my wi5e.

AD: !o you married her during the day and played the gig at night

CF: 2Cactly. here was no honeymoon until a5ter I 5inished the gig.hen we went to the honeymoon.

AD: !o you got a chance to go away 5or a couple o5 days

CF: %eah. 'ut she had to put up with the show. Be had to do siChours you 9now those gigs were long. And a5ter that we went on thehoneymoon.

AD: And how long were you with Loe /uba total Bas it until themid;8OHs

CF: /lose to , +H years.

AD: At that time were you the eCclusive singer 5or Loe /uba or didyou do other gigs li9e the Alegre All !tars Bas that during that timeperiod

CF: $o that came up a little later. 2ven though we used to do somelittle things. 'ut I was 5ormally Loe /uba8s singer. I did some o5 theAlegre stu55 but that was within that time but later on it must have
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=text/se=%22Joe%2520Cuba%22?KZLZbS9k;;19http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=text/se=%22Joe%2520Cuba%22?KZLZbS9k;;19


7/25

been about I don8t 9now 8O 8O-.

AD: 3ow did the music o5 the Loe /uba period help develop you as anartist

CF: I was 5orti5ied by the 5act that Loe /uba became one o5 the mostimportant musical groups in $ew %or9. eople used to respond to usli9e it was the 'eatles. hey used to alternate us with the biggiesand not only with the biggies they used to hold us 5or closing. #i9ethey had the names I mentioned to you &achito ito *odr6gue itouente &oncho #eEa /orti7o and Ismael *ivera and all the biggiesand then 5or closing the night the Loe /uba seCtet. I remember onetime when we had a big big dance in the wintertime at the&anhattan /enter in $ew %or9 and they had all these people. I8ll evenmention more: they had &achito they had uente they had

*odr6gue they had /orti7o they had &ario Nrti which was a bandthat was really coming on 5rom uerto *ico and Pavier /ugat with hisGH musicians and his million /hihuahuas. (laughs). And a5ter all thatthen the Loe /uba seCtet. I thin9 that was meant to 9ill us you9now 'ut instead we 9illed themQ Bhen we started the whole placewent into an uproar and it was great. I said 1Bell I belong to one o5the most important groups in salsa music history.1

AD: $ow who would want to 9ill you guys as an up and cominggroup Bere these 7ealous promoters who would 5orce you into the

position o5 having to 5ollow these legendary bands

CF: Bell I wouldn8t say that they didn8t want us to succeed but whatthey wanted to prove was that we were too young to try to compete

with the masters. It was li9e giving us a con5rontation. 'e humbleyou 9now but they themselves got the lesson. Be said 1Be arehumble but we are power5ul.1 And when they got convinced o5 thatthen it was not in trying to destroy us but in recogniing the valuethe attraction o5 the group. hey could not put us up in 5ront to openup a dance because we were the big attraction. Ironically they had tohold us 5or last even though it may have started with a di55erent idea.$ow they 9new the investment was to hold the star 5or the end. !owe became the stars. It was incredible.

AD: Bhat time period was this that this was happening


8/25

CF: his must have been about +,, +,OH +,O+. hiswas our greatest moment. Be were so power5ul we did a/oca /ola commercial with one o5 our tunes that hadbecome a national hit. It was 12l ito.1 (whistles). 1 Nyeese pitoQ1 Be used to do the melody o5 12l ito1 to /oca

/ola: 1Drin9 /oca /ola1 (singing). And we did our bigvideo commercial at alisades ar9 and it went national.!o that8s how big we were and then we started goingaround the country. Be used to do contracts in #osAngeles.../leveland /hicago /onnecticut.

AD: 12l ito1was a really unusual song. I mean with thewhole chorus o5 1I8ll never go bac9 to Meorgia.1 Bhatbrought about that particular song 3ow did you guyscome up with that

CF: Bell it was li9e a hybrid really. Be started with 12l ito1 I don8t9now who it was that started whistling. (whistles) And the pianoplayer 5ollowed it and we all came in and it became li9e aninteresting ri55.

AD: Bas that something you did in a rehearsal and you 7ust turned itinto a tune

CF: $o that came right within a dance. here was a brea9 and

somebody started whistling and some o5 the crowd started whistlingwith it so we 7ust 5ell into it. And then we developed a thing with the1I8ll never go bac9 to Meorgia1 it was something that Diy Millespiehad said way be5ore in one o5 his 7a recordings. 1I8ll never go bac9to Meorgia.1 I thin9 it was Limmy !abater that repeated the line sowe made it a chorus line.

AD: %ou 7ust li9ed the way it sounded

CF: %eah it was li9e a 7am session really. here was not anything

established. Be 7ust developed it right there and it became a big hit.

AD: Did you guys intentionally try to cross over at that particulartime to the 2nglish language mar9et or was it something that 7ustspontaneously happened

CF: hese guys even though they had uerto *ican roots most o5them besides me had been either born in $ew %or9 or had gone to$ew %or9 when they were about a year old. !o they grew within the2nglish language and they all spo9e 2nglish better than me.

AD: !o it was 7ust a natural outgrowth o5 the 5act that they were
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/9978.10?KZLZbS9k;;23http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/9978.10?KZLZbS9k;;23


9/25

native $ew %or9ers in many ways that made them want to try thatstyle o5 music

CF: %eah. Bhen I came into the group they had instituted many2nglish tunes. he other singer that I told you le5t the group because

there was no gigs 5or him Billie orres used to sing most o5 thetunes in 2nglish even though they were salsa. I thin9 the 5irstcrossover was done by the Loe /uba seCtet. Be did all the tunesbecause we used to cater to a Lewish crowd to an Italian crowd toblac9 American crowds and to #atinos too. !o I thin9 the crossoverstarted really with Loe /uba.

AD: !o you were with them until the mid;siCties. N5 course it seemsli9e it had a real pro5ound impact on your pro5essional li5e. At whatpoint did you leave the Loe /uba seCtet and what were some o5 the

reasons behind that

CF: Bell I started to really reconsider my li5e as to what I wanted5rom music. I had the brea9 o5 the greatest master ito *odr6gue Ihad the con5idence o5 him and I had the support o5 the 5ans. Ithought I could ma9e another step up o5 my li5e. I did not want tospend the rest o5 my li5e being the singer o5 the seCtet. I wanted tobe /heo 0eliciano. And even though we were on a very 5riendly basisthe guys were hurt that I was leaving the group but I had a 5ewo55ers. Bhenever a singer became outstanding he will get some

o55ers. hey will get you away 5rom the group sometimes 5or the bestor other times to destroy you. I don8t thin9 anybody wanted todestroy me I thin9 they really thought I could do much better on myown and establish my own name. !o I did I told the guys it8s been apleasure we8ve had a beauti5ul li5e but I gotta go on.

AD: Bhat year was this

CF: hat must have been let8s see...I thin9 it was +,O.

AD: Did you immediately go and sign a recording contract andrelease a solo album

CF: I didn8t record but I did have the impresarios wanting to bac9me up with all the di55erent groups with which I had developed. $ow Ihad &achito bac9 me up I had ito uente bac9 me up I had 2ddiealmieri bac9 me up. hey recognied me as a singer as a soloist.'esides having their 5riendship I had their respect. !o all thesegroups bac9ed me up. Bhenever there was a dance with two or threegroups one o5 those groups would bac9 me up and slowly but surelyI established mysel5. A5ter that I did something which originally I wasagainst becoming the singer o5 another group. 'ut at this time the


10/25


11/25

el Mran /ombo. And Lerry &asucci he was always interested in mebut they had told him 1$o let him get through with the drug thingand then when he comes out i5 we wants sign him up with the 0anialabel.1

AD: !o the other musicians were the ones who would tell him thiscorrect

CF: %eah. &any guys. I have to be especially than95ul to one guy whohad all the con5idence in me and who told Lerry: his guy can be amonster 5or us 5or the 0ania All !tars you have to sign him up. hatwas *ay 'arretto. I love him and he had la con5iana. 3e believed inme and i5 Lerry &asucci o55ered me a contract it was because o5 thesuggestion by *ay 'arretto. !o that happened while I was still in thetreatment. I used get visits 5rom ite /uret and Lerry &asucci once

in a while used to come in and bring me cigarettes and whatever Ineeded. And he said 1Bell whenever you8re ready let8s tal9business.1 I told him 1Bell I8ll let you 9now when.1 And there camea time when I decided 1#et8s get it together1 and he came over touerto *ico and we signed the contract the original contract with0ania and that8s when that record came out. hat was my comebac9.

AD: $ow at the time you were in the rehabilitation...this wassomething voluntary then...and you lived there the whole time. Bhat9ind o5 activities did you have to do while you were in 3ogar /rea

CF: Bell it was the beginning o5 a concept. It was not an establishedinstitution. It was done by some eC;addicts that said 1Bell i5 we gettogether we can help ourselves. !o let8s put our eCperience togetherlet8s see what we did wrong what we can do right and establish aphilosophy and let8s try to help ourselves.1 !o I caught it at thebeginning. he treatment itsel5 was not de5ined it was slowly de5iningitsel5. Be had to con5ront ourselves we had some big 5ights too you9now. Bhen you8re there i5 you8re loo9ing 5or reality you want to besincere you have to tal9 outright. !o we used to tal9 outright and we

used to have some 5ights and con5ront each other. 'ut that wassomething we hadn8t done be5ore. he addict is always escaping.'eing an addict whatever you8re an addict to is nothing but anescape. 2scape 5rom your problems trying to hide reality within themists o5 narcotics or whatever. !o we had to tal9 about reality andwe used to call each other all 9inds o5 names. 1%ou8re a son o5 abitch you8re this you8re venom you8re no good you should bedead1 and whatnot that8s how the treatment really wor9s...tal9ingreality. hat 5orti5ied all o5 us and as we went through thisdevelopment we established a more 5ormal 9ind o5 treatment whichhas become the most important institution in helping addicts a nivelmundial. 3ogar /rea at this moment has over JH houses in uerto


12/25

*ico has houses in all #atin America has houses inennsylvania in /onnecticut everywhere. It has become themost important treatment center 5or addiction.

AD: Are you still involved with activities at 3ogar /rea at this

point

CF: %es I visit them we get together sometimes we get togethertherapy groups I lead them. !ometimes I do con5erences.!ometimes I do testimonials. Bhat I8ve been tal9ing to you about Ital9 about in churches in universities in colleges everywhere. Betal9 about it...Be have to responsabiliarnos en ayudar give o5 whatwe got. !o I mysel5 am committed to this inde5initely. I will always bethere to try to help the young people to understand to not to bein5luenced by this and see the harm...it8s against the development o5any human being.

AD: $ow it8s 5airly well documented that a lot o5 salsa stars o5 yourgeneration people li9e 34ctor #avoe and Ismael *ivera hadsubstance abuse problems as well. Miven the 5act that you had thiseCperience with 3ogar /rea did you ever try to counsel these starsso that they would not ta9e that path o5 drugs

CF: Bell we all came 5rom the same school. Be developed the habitabout the same time. Be all 5ought it at the same time so I was oneo5 the 5irst ones that came out o5 it. And I tried to con5ront theseguys my 5ellas my 5riends as to 1I saw the light. I thin9 this is good5or me and I thin9 it8s good 5or you.1 'ut when you8re an addict youmay hear a million and one conse7os li9e I did. 'ecause I was a 5ewyears into the addiction and people used to tell me 1/heo get out o5there that8s no good 5or you.1 And this and that and the other. 'ut Ididn8t listen to it. I heard it but I didn8t listen. $ow when I did ma9ethe decision at that time was when all these million conse7os hit meall at once. And I said 1hey are right. I have to change my li5e.1hat8s a decision you have to ma9e. And these guys used to listen towhat I said but they said 1hat8s good 5or you but when I 5eel it8smy time I8ll do it mysel5.1

AD: !o you actually spo9e and had conversations...Did you spea9speci5ically to 34ctor #avoe and Ismael *ivera themselves

CF: !ure. Be had 5riendships together. 34ctor he was besides the


13/25

superstar he was I consider him my son. Bhen I had done thechange in my li5e when he 5elt that his problems were 5illing up hiscup he used to come to me 5or help 1/heo please hKblame helpme help me I want to get out o5 this.1 And he used to come to myo55ice in uerto *ico when I had my record company /oche *ecords

he used to come tal9 to me he used to spend hours with me thereas I spent them with Ismael *ivera as I spent them with 0ran9ie*ui. I tried to give them what I got but li9e I said it8s a decisionyou have to ma9e personally.

AD: And un5ortunately I guess that message never got across tothose particular musicians.

CF: Bell...at the end 34ctor...really was not using drugs anymore. 3ewas compensating with methadone. At the time he wanted to really

get o55 the thing. 'ut when you compensate 5or a habit with anotherhabit which is what methadone does you have to brea9 themethadone habit. And that was the process 34ctor was into. N5course he was acting much better he was per5orming much betterbecause methadone does not give you a high it 7ust paci5ies you andlets you thin9 lets you per5orm. !o he was doing pretty good but hehad problems you 9now. &any problems that hit him all at oncewhich I don8t wish on any human being.

AD: Absolutely. I remember reading about some o5 the tragedies he

su55ered in his li5e. Bas Ismael *ivera ever able to come to grips withhis problem or did that pursue him until the day he died

CF: At the end he had overcome it too. 3e had at least le5t the strongthing the heroin. 3e used to drin9 a little bit and whatnot. 'ut whathappened with Ismael is that he had all the concepts wrong.Bhenever he would spend a night or two nights in bohemia ensinging and rumb?n and vacilando all this at the end o5 one or twodays o5 that your body is tired. Bhat your body8s as9ing 5oris...sleep... 'ut Ismael had the concept wrong. 3e thought that by

running by doing eCercise he would 5eel better. !o how can you dothat i5 you punish your body 5or one night or two nights then insteado5 going to bed you go run on the beach and do +H miles And that8swhat 9illed him. 3e burned his body out doing eCercise. 3e died in hismother8s arms clean he was not using drugs. 3e was clean. 'ut hewas burnt out. 3is heart 5ailed him right in 5ront o5 his mother.

AD: hat8s a terrible tragedy especially considering his stature as anartist. 0ortunately you were able to come out o5 that situation in+, with Cheo. /ould you tell me about the way that album wasshaped It8s probably gone down as one o5 the classic albums o5 alltime in this style o5 music.


14/25

CF: It was a thing that surprised me. Bhen I went into thetreatment I said 1Bell people have seen me the way I have actedwith the in5luence o5 drugs I don8t thin9 they love me any more Idon8t thin9 they care about me because I didn8t appreciate what I

had. !o I don8t 9now what8s going to happen. 'ut I want to sing. Iwant to change my li5e and try again.1 And that8s when I got thebrea9 5rom Lerry &asucci. he big surprise was that all these peoplewere waiting there 5or me. hey said 1/heo welcome bac9 we needyou.1 hat gave me such an in7ection wow un suero. I said 1Bowthey still believe in me. I thin9 that recording is one o5 the mostimportant I8ve done because each and every tune in that recordingbecame a hit. $ot 7ust one cut two cuts but all the numbers becamehits. hat was my comebac9. hat was really my strong comebac9.#uc9ily enough it was within the time o5 the 5irst 0ania All !tars

movie Our Latin Thing. !o that gave me a double opening when I did1Anacaona1 because now it became un hit mundial.

AD: Bhat was that era li9e the 0ania All !tarsera

CF: Bell that was a get;together. hat was shop that was el tallerthe get together o5 the 5ellas. hat was li9e my beginning when Iwent into this musician8s union that I started meeting all thesesuperstars all these 5amous musicians all the guys del barrio. $owthe 0ania All !tars was la reuni?n. At the beginning some o5 them

were together with me aspiring. $ow we were all pro5essionals. !owhenever we got the 0ania All !tars together it was li9e 5amily you9now. It was li9e an interchange o5 eCperiences emotions and all9inds o5...it was great. Be used to get together and be on tour 5ortwo three or 5our wee9s and it was great times. Mreat times.

AD: Bhen you guys did 1=u6tate F ara onerme %o1 on the FaniaAll Stars Live at the Cheetahalbumwas that something you wor9edout be5orehand or was it 7ust a live per5ormance

CF: hat was a live per5ormance that came out o5 the movie when wedid the /heetah concert. hat was spontaneous. Bhatever we saidcame out naturally.

AD: Did you 5eel a certain pressure because you have to go youhave all these people listening to you you have your contemporariesli9e 34ctor #avoe and all those guys doing improvisations be5ore you

CF: $o I was very happy. I was a 5ish in water. I was bac9 in myelement very happy not scared. Nn the contrary I was ready to gowith them because I 9new the >uality o5 these interpreters and wewere retando (challenging) each other 1Mive me the best you got
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=sql/sf=artist_id/se=395?KZLZbS9k;;29http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5756.10?KZLZbS9k;;30http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5756.10?KZLZbS9k;;30http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=sql/sf=artist_id/se=395?KZLZbS9k;;29http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5756.10?KZLZbS9k;;30http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5756.10?KZLZbS9k;;30


15/25

and I8ll give you mine.1 And it was en7oyment really.

AD: Bho do you thin9 got the best out o5 that particular eCchange

CF: #aughs. I thin9 everybody did well. 'ecause it was all

interpretation the way each one 5eels.

AD: his reminds me o5 when 7a musicians used to have cuttingcontests. !omebody would ta9e a horn solo and another guy wouldcome up and try to cut him. &iles Davis went head to head withRenny Dorham on several occasions. In /uba today in clubs li9e/asa de la &Fsica and 2l ropical there8s a tradition today where theyoung soneros will try to cut each other. Did you participate inanything li9e this when you were growing up

CF: Nh yeah there was competition. %ou could not do worse than thelast guy. %ou had to do at least as well as him or better. It was amachismo thing an attitude li9e 1I8m the greatest man and I8m theone that 9nows about this...1 It was interesting. !o whenever a guycame bac9 to you and gave you another one that gave you a ta9eo55point 5or the neCt line. Bhich is good because this demands yourcreativity. It 9eeps you awa9e it 9eeps you aware in contact.

AD: Are there any 5amous names that you battled with Did you everbattle ete el /onde

CF: %eah ete and I...34ctor all the guys. 'ecause we used...not to5ight each other...but get the best out o5 you by giving you the bestout o5 me. !o it was a 5riendly 5ight but it was a great 5ight becauseit demanded that you bring out your talent your creativity. Be do itevery time we get together and I8m sure we8ll do it again.

AD: o get bac9 to the 0ania era did you ever get the sense that thestu55 you were doing was going to be historical and have the bigimpact that it did

CF: At that moment no. I saw the reaction. As soon as we releasedour records we started getting all these international presentationsas 5ar as A5rica Lap?n 2urope everywhere. Be said 1Bow we areimportant.1 And then was the 5usion. Lerry &asucci as the greatbusinessman he was he made a miCture o5 other rhythms or otherin5luences to integrate within our salsa thing. 2specially in my tune12l *at?n1 which is one o5 one o5 the tunes that I wrote at the verybeginning. 3e included Lorge !antana with his guitar and that was a5usion o5 roc9 and salsa (see note +). And that was great...

AD: I remember 12l *at?n1 as being part o5 an album you did with


16/25

Loe /uba. %ou8re tal9ing about a di55erent version o5 thissong

CF: It was a di55erent version. hat8s the 5irst tune Iever wrote 12l *at?n1 never thin9ing that it was going

to become what it did become. 2ven though when we started singingit with Loe /uba people started reacting to it positively. 'ut I thoughtit was going to be a transient hit something that would go away a5tera while. And it became a classic. hen we did the new version withthe 0ania All !tars and I8ve done it a couple o5 times more...

AD: Bhat is that song about he gato is mad because he can8tsnea9 out at night

CF: It8s a doble sentido thing. It8s really tal9ing about a man and a

woman but it8s tal9ing about animals;cats el gato. &i gato se estK>ue7ando...which is probably me I8m the gato >ue no puede vacilarpor>ue donde>uiera >ue se mete su gato ;su mu7er; lo va a buscar. %cada ve >ue el tipo estK guarachando aparece la mu7er: 1Syeme tecog6.1 'ut I made it li9e a 5unny type o5 thing with double entendreand I thin9 that besides that what really has the appeal is therhythmic thing about the coro: 1chacuchacuchucuchachucK.1 hat hasan appeal to a crowd that does understand !panish but theyunderstand the concept o5 1chacuchacuchucuchachucK1 which issound which is...rhythm. And I thin9 that8s what really made it a hit

a nivel internacional.

AD: Bas that something autobiographical Bas it ta9en 5rom yourpersonal li5e

CF: It happened with the group o5 Loe /uba the siC guys we were allmarried I was the last one to get married as I told you when Ibegan with Loe /uba. he rest o5 the guys were all married but weused to go on gigs travel on our own and the wives got togetherand that8s when the gossip started. 12y el marido tuyo he8s going

out with this chic9 and this guy8s messing up you gotta watch out.1hat8s how I got the notion 5or this tune.

AD: Is it tough based on that song and the 9ind o5 environmentyou8re in as a musician is it tough to 9eep a marriage going on underthose circumstances


17/25

CF: I thin9 the hardest part is really on the wi5e because we are thepro5essionals we have to do our wor9 5or ironically usually themusician has an appeal on the 5eminine side and it doesn8t haveanything to do with you being beauti5ul or not. %ou8re a musicianyou8re a singer you have appeal. And women respond to us. Andsometimes we do respond to them. And I thin9 it8s harder on thewives because they have to put up with all this we have to be away5rom home 5or a long time and they have to 9eep the 5ort. I thin9 thestrongest e55ect is on the wi5e really.

AD: %ou8ve been together with your wi5e 5or G years. Bhat hashelped you ma9e that marriage a success in a time when so manypeople get divorced

CF: Bell I thin9 it8s really the love she has 5or me. !he has put upwith me really made me part o5 her li5e. !he 9new my shortcomingsbut she 9new about my positive side and mostly she loves me a lot.!o she has put up with a lot. And I really I have to agradecerle a mimu7er all the treatment all the love that she8s given me 5or so manyyears all that con5idence in me. And recogniing that we8re wea9 andthose are ga7es del negocio. 2ven though I tried never to ma9e thingsli9e that obvious but it8s a concept that is there you8re a musicianwomen will be around and I thin9 that8s what mostly causes thesedivorces. he wi5e cannot put up with that. And my wi5e was great Ithin9. I don8t 9now how she did it because I really at a time wasgoing cray...even though I never stopped loving her. 'ut she put upwith it and it8s her love that has really made this marriage strong.

AD: 3ow many 9ids do you have

CF: I have 5our.

AD: Are any o5 them musicians

CF: hey all directly or indirectly have to do with show business. 0oreCample my son my oldest Los4 2nri>ue he8s a great recordingengineer. &y son *ichie has always wanted to be an actor. &ydaughter &ichelle graduated 5rom college with a ma7or in productionand communications and my youngest one he8s a drummer he

sings he8s a drummer within roc9 or reggae but he li9es to sing alittle salsa. !o they all indirectly have to do with it.


18/25

AD: In terms o5 your career 5rom +, on what were some o5 yourmost signi5icant eCperiences 5rom that time Bhat stands out most inyour memory

CF: Bell one o5 the most important was my beginning with 0aniaa5ter those 5irst two recordings that I had the opportunity in a bigway to do the love o5 my li5e: bolero el romance. Lerry &asucciLohnny acheco !antitos /ol?n and I went over to Argentina to do abolero album. I did a whole bolero album with a great string band5rom Argentina...directed by the great Lorge /alandrelli who8s now abig name in 3ollywood. And I did +H boleros. $ot only did +H bolerosbut was bac9ed up by +G violins a great 5rame o5 music behind me.!o that reestablished me as a bolero singer which had neverchanged. I still loved the bolero and I had done a lot o5 it.

AD: Bhat was that album called

CF: La Voz Sensual de Cheo. he tune it 5eatured was 1Luguete1which did become the biggest tune in that recording. I8ve doneboleros with la *ondalla Veneolana I8ve done boleros with Armando&ananero I8ve done all 9inds o5 boleros. As a matter o5 5act at thisstage o5 my li5e I want to concentrate more on the bolero.

AD: $ow that8s interesting that you have that particular proclivity to

sing that because a lot o5 the great soneros are not particularly9nown 5or being great boleristas. 3ow come you have that particularproclivity towards singing boleros Bhat8s the attraction there

CF: Bell as I told you my beginnings I was listening to r6o #osanchos I was listening to bolero real bolero. he percussion thingwas a natural thing in me but I pre5erred always el bolero.

AD: %ou have an interesting approach to boleros in many waysbecause you seem to concentrate more on the actual phrasing and

you really don8t go out o5 your way to hit a lot o5 high notes or lows.%ou sort o5 stay mid range at least in the ma7ority o5 the recordingsI8ve heard. Is that something you would agree with and what8s behindyour approach to boleros

CF: I recognie I am not a tenor. I am not a great voice singer. I8m a5eeling singer. I interpret it. I thin9 o5 a bolero as when you whisperto a woman in the ear you tal9 you bring through the message. Ithin9 bolero should be in between singing it and tal9ing it. !owhenever I go into words li9e 1amor1 (in a breathy voice) tal9 aboutit not 7ust 1amoooorrrr.1 I don8t consider mysel5 a singer. I considermysel5 an interpreter. And people have said that: 1/heo does not sing
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5518.10?KZLZbS9k;;34http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5518.10?KZLZbS9k;;34


19/25

the bolero. /heo tal9s the bolero.1

AD: #uis &iguelhas become 5amous in recent years with that stringo5 bolero albums he8s put out. Bhat do you thin9 o5 #uis &iguel8swor9

CF: A nivel pro5essional a nivel de cantante estoy muy agradecido ala obra de #uis &iguel. 2s un gran cantante y es un gran int4rprete.Bhat he did was save the bolero 5or the younger generation. #i9e allthese 9ids be5ore #uis &iguel when they used to listen to bolero theyused to say: 1Ah esa es mFsica de vie7os.1 'ut when #uis &iguel didit a young guy they became interested in bolero. hey listened tothis tune: (singing) 12n la vida hay amores >ue nunca puedenolvidarse.1 1Inolvidable.1 (note ) And they said 1Did you hear thatnew tune hat new tune you 9now 8Inolvidable8.1 hey didn8t

recognie this tune is H years old. !o #uis &iguel has saved el bolero5or the youth.

AD: I guess that8s something that still interests you very muchbecause you recently recorded the all;bolero album Un solo beso. Isthere a 5avorite bolero over the years that you still li9e to do aboveall other boleros

CF: here is one which has always been my 5avorite. It8s one o5 theshortest boleros word;wise but the message and the melody are

great. !ince I heard this tune many many years ago I wasimpressed. I heard it in the voice o5 a cantautor 5rom /uba Los4Antonio &4nde and even though the tune was not his it belonged to/4sar ortillo de la #u (note -) I heard his interpretation o5 it and I5ell in love with it. I5 there8s a 5avorite that8s it. 1Delirio.1F midelirio. (singing) 1!i pudiera eCpresarte como es de inmenso en el5ondo de mi cora?n mi amor por ti...1 %es. 2s mi 5avorito.

AD: Bell you8ve also been a part o5 the salsa movement and youalso have a lot o5 eCperience as a sonero. Bhat would you say are

the >ualities o5 a good sonero

CF: hat8s the only thing there8s not a school o5. 2ither you got it oryou don8t. %ou can go to school and learn how to sing how to controlyour voice how to get the best out o5 your abilities to compress theair bring out the high tones and all that but to improvise you haveto be a natural. I5 you are a natural you will be spontaneouslistening to the naturals the way they carry a thought the way theyre5lect what they see tal9 about what they see and convert it intomelody and rhythm. hat cannot be learned in school. o be able toimprovise is to be privileged it8s to be luc9y that Mod gave you thattalent because really there is no school o5 soneros.
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=sql/sf=artist_id/se=726?KZLZbS9k;;35http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/15567.10?KZLZbS9k;;36http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/12898.10?KZLZbS9k;;37http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/scan/st=sql/sf=artist_id/se=726?KZLZbS9k;;35http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/15567.10?KZLZbS9k;;36http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/12898.10?KZLZbS9k;;37


20/25

AD: Are we losing the tradition o5 the sonero

CF: here is a danger o5 losing it because the young peoplehave been in5luenced by other rhythms other international

things li9e rap reggae roc9 and many things that come out.And that8s o9ay. 'ut I don8t see what I used to see when I

was young. 0or eCample when I established my /ombo #as #ataswe thought rhythm and i5 we didn8t have an instrument we used tobang on top o5 the car hoods or on a chair or on a trash can and weused to go spontaneously into it. I don8t see that anymore. I used tosee guys li9e me when I was young that I was impressed by thesalsa singers and I tried to do what I did accomplish later toimprovise. 12y pero me gusta esta rumba...1 (singing) I did itspontaneously. I don8t see that spontaneity anymore.

AD: Bith your style o5 music that relies so much on tradition andbeing able to improvise and the singer being more o5 a 5orce ratherthan 7ust singing a balada with some rhythm to it which is how youcould describe a lot o5 modern salsa given that has it been di55icult5or you to ma9e a living and to per5orm

CF: It has and there are many reasons 5or it. 0irst you8re notcreating anything when you do a balada. &any tunes that are done insalsa were popular tunes in the other modality. !o it8s li9e winning

hal5 the war be5ore it8s even begun...I thin9 they eCploit a great tunea great melody it was a ballad and it became salsa. 'ut these guysare not eCponents o5 salsa. hey can only sing the tunes and then trya couple o5 lines o5 not really improvisations because those arewritten lines. I don8t see the naturalness in it. I mysel5 as aninterpreter have had 9ind o5 a hard time to 9eep up with the crowdthat responds to these guys. hey are the new 5aces they are thepretty 5aces it8s more important to have a pretty 5ace than to have apretty voice. 'ut no me >ue7o because internationally I 9eep mystature and I do wor9 throughout the year pretty well.

AD: I 9now you 7ust recently went to /uba and you per5ormed liveand there was a live album that 5eatured your per5ormance overthere. Bhat was that eCperience li9e /ould you tell me a little bitabout that

CF: Bell it was the dream o5 my li5e. I learned a lot about percussionand soneo 5rom a lot o5 /uban singers and musicians. here was abig in5luence o5 /uban music in my li5e. !o my great wish was to oneday go and see la mata la tierra donde naci? todo esto. 0inally a5terGH years I accomplished it and it surprised me that the /ubanpeople were so conscious o5 my wor9 that they had such regard 5or


21/25

me. !o I was really impressed by the welcome o5 the /uban peoplethe way they accepted me as one o5 them. It was a great eCperience.

AD: Bhat did you thin9 o5 the bands that are playing in /ubacurrently Is there anybody in particular that8s wor9ing there that

pleases you whose albums you would buy

CF: !ure. here8s one guy that I was even luc9y to get one thingtogether with him Isaac Delgado. 3e8s a very good sonero and withinone o5 his productions he included me with him in one o5 the tunes.It8s called 1Amigo.1

AD: Nne o5 the things I was reading about was that there was somesort o5 bac9lash against you because o5 the 5act that you went to/uba. 3as that actually occurred 3as it been a problem 5or you 5rom

a pro5essional standpoint

CF: $o no. !o 5ar it hasn8t. I was surprised because o5 what hadhappened to my colega Andy &ontaEe when he welcomed one o5 our

musician 5riends in uerto *ico and embraced him in a very 5riendlyand very real embrace. I was worried that the 5act that I went to/uba I was gong to get some 9ind o5 reaction possibly li9e he got. Ididn8t get any (note G). heir only possibly i5 it was there reactionwas to a contract in which they wanted me to go to &iami and do apresentation at a club that brings cubanos mFsica cubana and thereis always a protest against it. I thought I might get some o5 that so Itold the guy 1$o I don8t thin9 it8s the time 5or me to go there.1 'ut Inever got proo5 that that was so.

AD: !o you thin9 you can go and play &iami and not have anyproblems there

CF: $o I don8t thin9 so. As a matter o5 5act many /ubans whenthey heard my record they said 1Mracias 5or going to my landbecause I can8t. 'ut you went and you represented us.1 !o I gotsome positive reaction to it. I haven8t gotten any proo5 that there8sanything negative towards me.

AD: I8m glad to hear that because I thin9 it would be >uite a

ridiculous thing i5 there was. /ould you tell me a bit about this newpro7ect that you have going


22/25

CF: his is a concept I8ve had 5or many years... it8s called Una voz...mil recuerdos the voice being mine and the recuerdos ellos. !everalsingers were part o5 my evolution and I wanted to sing in memory o5them because they are part o5 the la >u6mica de /heo0eliciano...Daniel !antos who was a romantic bohemio. 'eny &or4

0elipe irela 5rom Veneuela a great romantic singer...ito*odr6gue who had all the parts...one o5 the greatest singers o5boleros o5 all times Milberto &onroig 5rom uerto *ico...!antitos/ol?n romKntico...Ismael *ivera who was great at our 5ol9 musicand salsa...&on *ivera.

...hey were my personal 5riends all o5 them and some o5 them weremy mentors my 5athers and others were my sons li9e 34ctor #avoeand 0ran9ie *ui. !o they all became part o5 mi >u6mica and I wantedto honor them. 'ut not imitate them. I wanted to interpret the tunes

that they made 5amous but singing them my way. !o I thin9 Iaccomplished that....

AD: !o we8re going to hear a variety o5 di55erent rhythms on thisrecord

CF: %es and I tried to include some o5 the elements they originallyused in their recordings to identi5y them and bring it to today8s musicbut with a bit o5 in5luence o5 what they did.

AD: Bhen you did this recording I8m 9ind o5 curious as to yourapproach. A lot o5 times in romantic salsa they do a recording wherethey8ll lay down a conga trac9 5or the whole album and manipulate itin the computer so that the same basic conga trac9 is usedthroughout the album and the same thing with the trumpets etc. Inother words the band doesn8t record together. Bhat 9ind o5approach did you ta9e to record this album

CF: I always li9e the original natural approach. I never didappreciate that computer thing. I li9ed to 5eel the band directly there.

!ometimes we do it in sections. !ometimes we do the rhythm sectionand then add the trumpets 5or instance. 'ut nothing computeried.2verything is arranged everything is prepared. !ometimes we try torecord it in one shot with the whole band. 'ut that8s more compleC.

AD: Did you do that on this new recording Is there a trac9 with thewhole band straight through

CF: $ot really because it was di55erent. It8s di55erent combinations.!ometimes you get a seCtet sometimes you get a trio sometimes abig band sometimes a con7unto. Be got all di55erent 9inds o5instrumentations which...people will appreciate the di55erent sounds
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/17485.10?KZLZbS9k;;41http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/17485.10?KZLZbS9k;;41http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/17485.10?KZLZbS9k;;41http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/17485.10?KZLZbS9k;;41


23/25

you get in this recording in particular.

AD: Bhen you recorded in the old days wasn8t the whole bandrecorded at once

CF: %es that8s how we did it.

AD: Bhat was it li9e during the 0ania era (in the recording studios)I spo9e to !ergio Meorge in an interview and we were tal9ing aboutthe role o5 the salsa producer. 3e8s very involved in directing thesound and telling the people in his groups how to sing what to singetc. 'ut he said this is very di55erent 5rom salsa in the 8Hs. 3e said in

the 8OHs and 8Hs the salsa producer8s role was to 9eeppeople in the studio 5rom 9illing each other.

CF: (laughs)

AD: Did you ever have an eCperience li9e that Bhatwas it li9e when you got all these guys together torecord

CF: !ure it was li9e a 7am session. Be did not loo9 5orper5ection. Bhat we loo9ed 5or was 5or interpretation 5or 5eeling 5orvibes. !o we used to go at it once. I5 we 5ailed in some way maybetwo or three times. 'ut always the 5ull body. Be didn8t mind little

mista9es little 9in9s here and there i5 the general 5inal product wasgood. hat was the idea to convey the 5eeling o5 the whole group atone time not loo9ing 5or per5ection but 5eeling and I en7oyed thatvery much.

AD: Bhen did you start recording in sections Bere the classicalbums li9e Cheoand The Singerand Sentimiento Trecorded with a5ull band all at once or were they also in parts

CF: At that moment I did not have a band so this was all arranged

and they were loo9ing 5or near per5ection (note O). !o we recordedthe basis o5 it bass piano drums and then we were adding bysection. !o i5 anybody ma9es a mista9e you don8t have to erase thepiano any more we have that. he trumpets go at it and since it8sonly trumpets they can repeat a 5ew times until they get it per5ect.hen we get the coros. !o they were loo9ing 5or per5ection.roduction wise that8s o9ay i5 you want to bring a polished shinyproduct that people will respond to. 'ut sometimes I pre5er aspontaneous thing even though you might get a little gallo here orwhatever 9in9. 'ut i5 the center o5 it is conveying a true 5eeling o5spontaneous music ma9ing I li9e it.
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/2402.10?KZLZbS9k;;42http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/9272.10?KZLZbS9k;;43http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/8516.10?KZLZbS9k;;44http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/2402.10?KZLZbS9k;;42http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/9272.10?KZLZbS9k;;43http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/8516.10?KZLZbS9k;;44


24/25

AD: Are there any recordings with that raw sound that we should goand buy

CF: I thin9 everything we did with the Alegre all !tars is a goodeCample o5 it. As a matter o5 5act we did it without arrangements.

Be 7ust got together got a line and let8s go. hat was a real 7amsession. I loved all the Alegre recordings.

AD: Bell we8re 9ind o5 running out o5 time here. o close theinterview in terms o5 your legacy as an artist is there any way inparticular that you would li9e to be remembered Bhat would youli9e people to thin9 about when they thin9 o5 /heo 0eliciano in yearsto come

CF: Bell yo soy el amigo el cantante sentimental...I would want

them to 9now that my way o5 singing is sincere that I won8t singanything that I do not 5eel...2verything I sang is part o5 me it8s parto5 my >u6mica and I 5eel very luc9y that Mod made me an instrumento5 3is creation.

+ /heo is re5erring to a +,G 0ania All !tars album called LatinSoul!oc"that o55ered some interesting eCperiments in the 5usion o5 5un9salsa and roc9. Lorge !antana is also 9nown as &alo. 3e is /arlos!antana8s brother and led a success5ul group o5 his own in the +,Hs.

his is a classic bolero composed by pianist Lulio Muti4rre whoincidentally also was behind the legendary /uban Lam !essionsalbums.

- ortillo de la #u was one o5 the leading eCponents o5 the 56linmovement in /uba. 106lin1 is 15eeling1 with a !panish pronunciation.&usically 56lin was about blending bolero and 7a. 'esides ortillo dela #u other 5amous eCponents o5 56lin include 0ran9 Dom6ngue andNmara ortuondo.

G his re5ers to an incident that occurred in +,,. !inger;songwriter
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5646.10?KZLZbS9k;;48http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5646.10?KZLZbS9k;;48http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/17485.10?KZLZbS9k;;47http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/12118.10?KZLZbS9k;;46http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/11646.10?KZLZbS9k;;45http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5646.10?KZLZbS9k;;48http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/5646.10?KZLZbS9k;;48


25/25

!ilvio *odr6gue is loved in /uba but reviled by many eCiles becausehe actively supports the /astro regime. *odr6gue went to uerto*ico 5or a concert and there met with sonero Andy &ontaEe whohugged him. his outraged many /uban eCiles and &ontaEe wasdropped 5rom the annual /alle Ncho 5estival in &iami.

/heo was to per5orm at a club in &iami that brings in /uban artists5rom the island to per5orm among them Issac Delgado and $M la'anda. Nccasionally these per5ormances spur protests 5rom /ubaneCiles who do not want to see the /uban government pro5iting bybringing its artists here. Interestingly enough such acts o5 musicalrepudiation are common under /astro. 0or instance /elia /ru8smusic is banned. !o were the 'eatles during the +,OHs. he irony o5coming to the .!. 5or 5reedom and then imitating /astro8s repressionis o5ten lost on those who ma9e these protests.

O /heo is re5erring speci5ically to the +, recording Cheo when hehad 7ust come out o5 3ogar /rea and did not have his own band andthere5ore recorded the album with an all;star cast that included *ay'arretto Nrestes Vilat? and Lohnny acheco among others.

cheo feliciano

Documents